The drive from Kommetjie along the coastal road via Chapman's Peak, Llandudno and the Atlantic seaboard was nothing less than spectacular. The wind swept down the mountainside, bouncing off the sea and throwing up foaming white horses' manes. People waiting for buses were spread-eagled against the shelters, trying to stand upright. Typical pose for a November southeaster.
Having left home at 6.30 to avoid the traffic (today there was none - Murphy again), I parked the car under a shady pine on Signal Hill at 7.20, and whiled away the time watching slim young things running down from pre-dawn hikes up to the summit of Lion's Head, casually waiting for Ubers to transport them back to their hotels for a nap before heading back to Europe. Muscular young men barely breaking a sweat ran uphill, accompanied by equally muscular dogs. This is a meeting place for the fit.
I busied myself lacing up my sturdy hiking boots and enjoying the views, and at 8 o'clock our not quite so glamorous, but far more interesting, group set off down towards Kloof Nek, past The Glen and onto the lower path around the base of Lion's Head. Thank goodness we were not going to climb the rocks! As previously advised, there was not a breath of wind and very little shade along the route, but the easy path was a delight, and the views of the building activities in Clifton were remarkable. Some of the houses have been under construction for years, such is the complexity of the site and the architecture, and giant cranes mar the skyline. We stopped for coffee above the highest house, where jackhammers assaulted the silence and tankers waited quietly in the roadstead for entry into Table Bay.
A distinct line marks the end of the windswept sea, where it gives way to the still waters of Camps Bay and Clifton. This is, of course, why property prices are so eye-watering in these suburbs. People will do anything to get out of the wind.
No comments:
Post a Comment